"Over There" is a 1917 war song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the

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and the American public during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Written shortly after the

American entry into World War I The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe. Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and an a ...

, "Over There" is a patriotic propaganda song intended to galvanize American men to enlist in the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

and fight the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

. The song is best remembered for a line in its chorus: "The Yanks are coming."

History

According to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, Cohan wrote "Over There" during his commute to work on April 7, 1917, a day after the U.S. officially abandoned their policy of

non-interventionism Non-interventionism or non-intervention is commonly understood as "a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries' internal affairs". This is based on the grounds that a state should not inter ...

and joined the Allied Powers. Its opening verse is derived from "Johnny, Get Your Gun", an 1886 song written by Monroe Rosenfeld, while its rhythm was based on a three-note

bugle call A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used ...

. Cohan personally chose

Nora Bayes Nora Bayes (born Rachel Eleonora "Dora" Goldberg; October 3, 1880March 19, 1928) was an American singer and vaudeville performer who was popular internationally between the 1900s and 1920s. She is credited with co-writing the song " Shine On, Har ...

to premiere "Over There" in June 1917, but the Peerless Quartet recorded it first on June 6 with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. Bayes's rendition released on July 13. Though early tests with soldiers saw lukewarm reception, the song was very popular with the civilian public. Other versions recorded by Billy Murray, the American Quartet, and Arthur Fields were also made. President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

described it as "a genuine inspiration to all American manhood". By the end of 1918, over 2 million copies of sheet music were sold. Though written and intended for World War I, the song has been revived on various occasions during and after

. It was not heavily used during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, but it regained some popularity in the 21st century after the

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and during the war on terror.

Lyrics

As sung by early 20th-century recording artist Billy Murray:

In popular culture

* Since 2009, UK financial services comparison website Go.Compare has used an adapted version of the song for their adverts, sung by Wynne Evans. * The song provides the introduction to the Kanonenfieber song "The Yankee Division March" (with Trevor Strnad). * In the video game '' Hell Let Loose'', set in World War II, the song plays when the Allies faction wins a match.

Notes

References

External links

Nora Bayes recording July 13, 1917
via U.S. Library of Congress, National Jukebox
Rendition by Billy Murray and quartetLibrary of Congress essay
on recording on the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

.
Sheet music for "Over There"
Leo Feist, Inc., 1917.
Over There from Patriotic Melodies
{{Authority control 1917 songs American patriotic songs Songs about the military Songs of World War I Billy Murray (singer) songs Songs written by George M. Cohan Nora Bayes songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Songs used as jingles United States National Recording Registry recordings American military marches